Bongo Fury

when i go over bumps in the road i can hear a clunky noise underneath the car near the front. my mechanic checked it all this morning and was baffled. he said the track rod ends and drop-something-or-other had all been replaced and were fine and the ball joints were ok too. he said keep an ear out to see if it gets worse and take it back. any clues?

Drop links and ball joints have been known to fail after a matter of weeks if poor quality components have been fitted. If they are ok then it could be anti roll bar bushes and or brackets.

i'll mention that to him when i go back, thanks

I've got the same. Can't remember what it was but it's not safety related, passed the MOT fine despite the area being in the inspectors zone due to some suspension issue. It's just annoying.

Also make sure your spare wheel is nice and tight under the bongo, it can rattle and the noise will travel down the chassis.

will check that tomorrow. mechanic has checked it all again and says everything on the suspension is new and fine so it's very baffling.

Check its not your jack or wheel brace banging about
It's in the little hatch / door on the sliding door step

i don't think it's that as the hatch is packed tight with my emergency high vis jackets. i'll try taking the gubbins out of the hatch and keep them in the cabin next time i go out to double check.

Hi
The Bongo , as with any car, has a number of issues with clonks from the front. I have fitted , or had fitted genuine Mazda components that have failed within a week, and thought that the cause of a clonk might have been elsewhere because I'd just replaced a droplink or ball-joint.
From experience, I'd say that if you have a droplink go, then replace ALL the components in that line of the suspension...namely the area of the suspension concerned with body roll, therefore, replace the droplinks, the roll-bar bushes and the bushing brackets and bolts. Take the Bongo to the nearest bit of safe pot-holed farm track, and give it a bit of a pounding...If the noise is still apparent, then it's highly likely to be the wishbones , steering rack or shockers. Get to your nearest Bongo proficient garage, and replace the faulty item .
The steering rack has an inner and outer track-rod...when the inner bush supporting the inner track-rod goes, there is a clonk... Either get a quality second-hand rack or a re-conned one! If it's the wishbone area, get a new wishbone COMPLETE....I have had 2 new ones. Lastly try the shockers (dampers) themselves...it may be they will need replacing...it's an old vehicle, and dampers can only be expected to last 100,000 Kilometers...MAXIMUM. There is one other area that can be looked at...that is the top mount for the shockers....VERY unlikely, but mine did need doing....I've had the whole front done...(and the rear)...drives like a new vehicle...QUALITY ride!!!
Anyway...if your mechanic can't find it, then get to another Bongo Doctor
Cheers
Helen
PS...put your approximate location in and you will get someone telling you where to take the Bongo for service

i'm in neath/port talbot area.

i see there's one in swansea that's been recommended on here so i guess i'll give them a try. trouble is i'm up to my ears in stuff right now and just haven't got a spare day to chase it up. am i doing the van any harm by driving with a clunk (i know that's difficult to answer when we don't know what the clunk is). i don't want to do more damage by driving here there and everywhere but it's a bit of a hobson's choice right now

Droplinks are a common failure.

You get a tapping/knocking as you drive , even on smooth surfaces. They are super easy and cheap to replace. The take 10 mins to swap over - ven for a complete novice. You just need a spanner/socket, and an allen key.

I used the ones with a 4 year guarantee:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-FREDA-2- ... 25736afee6

The other cause of knocking, more prevalent on bumpy surfaces is a shot wishbone ball joint. You can press out the old one and press in a new one for small money. This is not such a novice job, as you need a press, and taking the wishbone off is, whilst fairly easy, probably not a good job for a complete beginner, or if it's raining

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAZDA-BONGO-1 ... 58a52eb868

I drove mine with a clunky ball joint and droplink for a fair while. Neither will cause you a severe problem unless the balljoint comes apart, which would need it to be severely knackered.

thanks for that - hopefully it won't give up for a while then. it's booked into the garage next monday. i hope it's something cheap and simple!!